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MetricWater and marine resources

Total water discharge

Measurement answer

What this metric measures

Total water discharge is the reporting-period volume of effluent and other water that leaves the own-operations boundary for surface water, groundwater or third parties. Under the current ESRS it is supplementary information rather than a mandatory E3 datapoint.

Specification

Metric specification

Result format
Single value
Unit
Cubic metres (m³)
Reporting basis
Reporting period
Aggregation
Sum of included discharge volumes
Pillar
Environmental
Topic
Water and marine resources
Controlled domain
Water and marine resources
Entity type
Metric

Reporting boundary

Effluent and other water leaving the declared own-operations boundary during the reporting period, classified by receiving destination and with inter-site or third-party transfers treated consistently.

Cross-library identity

Library mappings and variants

These links compare quantity, population, boundary, period, unit, denominator, aggregation, dimensions, and method edition. Partial relationships are navigation aids only and never authorize observation reuse.

Verified source occurrences

Framework coverage

This is one canonical metric. The bindings below show every verified framework occurrence without creating duplicate metric pages. Edition, disclosure, role, and relationship remain source-specific.

  • Adopting Disclosure

    CDP Full Corporate Questionnaire 2026

    water-discharge-total
    Publisher
    CDP
    Edition
    Full Corporate Questionnaire and Reporting Guidance 2026 v1.3, revised 6 August 2026
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Q9.2.8, numeric field 1 | Q9.3.1, numeric field 10 | Q9.3.1, numeric field 11 | Q9.3.1, numeric field 12 | Q9.3.1, numeric field 13 | Q9.3.1, numeric field 14
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    European Sustainability Reporting Standards

    Source evidence
    Publisher
    European Commission
    Edition
    Consolidated text as of 1 January 2025, document version 001.001
    Requirement
    Not Specified
    Relationship
    Defines Disclosure
    Mapping outcome
    Direct Evidence
    Source locator
    Annex I, ESRS E3 scope paragraphs 2 and 26 to 28, application requirement AR 32, and Annex II definition of water discharge
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    GRI Standards

    GRI 303-4
    Publisher
    Global Reporting Initiative
    Edition
    Files published 19 June 2025; entry point dated 23 June 2025
    Requirement
    Not Specified
    Relationship
    Method Variant
    Mapping outcome
    Cross Library Link
    Source locator
    GRI 303-4, paragraph a; taxonomy entry point dated 23 June 2025
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    GRI Standards

    GRI 303-4
    Publisher
    Global Reporting Initiative
    Edition
    Files published 19 June 2025; entry point dated 23 June 2025
    Requirement
    Not Specified
    Relationship
    Narrower Than
    Mapping outcome
    Cross Library Link
    Source locator
    GRI 303-4, paragraph c; taxonomy entry point dated 23 June 2025
    Open official framework source
  • Adopting Disclosure

    SEBI BRSR Core

    2d-water-discharge-destination-treatment
    Publisher
    Securities and Exchange Board of India
    Edition
    BRSR Core Annexure 17A in the SEBI LODR Master Circular updated 30 January 2026, incorporating the 28 March 2025 amendments
    Requirement
    Conditional
    Relationship
    Reuses Canonical Metric
    Mapping outcome
    Reused
    Source locator
    Annexure 17A, printed page 215 of the 2026 Master Circular
    Open official framework source

Value structure

Dimensions and units

Unit
Cubic metres (m³)
Reporting basis
Reporting period

Unit meaning: One cubic metre equals 1,000 litres of volume.

Published dimensions

  • Volume
  • Discharge destination
  • Site
  • Water type or treatment state

Calculation method

Formula information

Status
Specified
Formula type
Sum

Formula

T = Σqᵢ

Sum only non-overlapping qualifying observations that use compatible units, boundaries, periods, classifications, and method editions.

Variables

SymbolVariableDefinitionUnit
qᵢqualifying observationEach compatible observation within the qualifying population and boundary defined for Total water discharge.m³

Verified sources

Evidence and status sources

Sustopedia checked each record-specific claim directly against primary publisher material. Labels distinguish current measurement authority from future compatibility and corroborative, legal, edition, or method status context. Corroborative evidence can support a stated limitation but cannot establish the core measurement by itself.

Measurement evidence

  • Measurement evidenceChecked 15 August 2026

    Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 supplementing Directive 2013/34/EU as regards sustainability reporting standards

    Publisher
    European Commission
    Edition
    Consolidated text as of 1 January 2025, document version 001.001
    Locator
    Annex I, ESRS E3 scope paragraphs 2 and 26 to 28, application requirement AR 32, and Annex II definition of water discharge

    Supports: Official publisher reference linked specifically to the Sustopedia metric “Total water discharge”; interpret it with the source-edition basis and limitations shown on this page.

    Open official source

Use with context

Interpretation boundaries

Method disclosures required

Source-edition basis: Current in-force ESRS E3 consolidated as of 1 January 2025; the adopted 2026 amendment is compatibility context only.

  • Receiving destination and discharge route
  • Included sites and own-operations boundary
  • Inter-site and third-party transfer treatment
  • Measurement, sampling, extrapolation or estimation basis

Record-specific limitations

  • A discharge volume does not describe pollutant load, concentration, temperature or receiving-water quality.
  • Inter-site transfers and transfers to third parties require a declared treatment to prevent double counting.
  • The current ESRS treats withdrawal and discharge as supplementary information; this status must remain visible.

Interpret this metric with the stated reporting boundary, period convention, value shape, and unit. Results prepared with different boundaries or conventions may not be directly comparable.

Measurement evidence supports the core record-specific claims described above. Corroborative evidence can support limitations, while compatibility and status sources provide their separately labelled context. None of these cards by itself determines an organisation's legal applicability, filing readiness, assurance status, or compliance conclusion.